Latest News

Nursery News 10th June 2024

NURSERY NEWS

10th June 2024 – Edition 337

Find out About:

A. Can you Help? We are in need of some tissues…

B. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

C. Parent Consultations July 2024

D. End of term arrangements July 2024

E. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Can you Help? We are in need of some tissues…

We are almost completely out of tissues. We would be very grateful if Parents would consider donating a box of tissues.

B. An Open School Event: For Big Nursery Yellow Group Parents: Basic Skills.

Miss Howe teaches some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Wednesday morning. Mrs Cashmore teaches Some Big Nursery Yellow Group children ‘Basic Skills’ on a Thursday morning.

The children move to a quiet space in Room 5 where they work in small groups (approx. 8 children) to learn reading, writing, mathematical skills and problem solving.

We would like to invite Miss Howe’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Wednesday 19^th June.

We would like to invite Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow group parents in to observe a 30 minute reading/writing activity on Thursday 20^th June.

A further invitation letter will follow to Yellow Group parents so that we can match up time slots, so parents can join their child’s small group. Blue Group had their Basic Skills groups in the Autumn Term 2023 and Orange Group had their Basic skills group in the Spring Term 2024.

C. Parent Consultations July 2024.

We plan to have face to face parent consultations for all the children on 1st, 2^nd  and 4^th July 2024.  All consultations will be 5 minutes long. Staff will be in touch with you to arrange an appointment time.

Some staff work part time. Individual staff members will each have a designated block of time slots to meet with parents.

So for Little Nursery:

Please note, we have had to make some transitional arrangements due to the roll out of the 15 hours funding for 2 year olds. Little Nursery Yellow Group are now based in Room 3 for the Summer Term 2024. Mrs Cashmore and Mrs McGrath work closely with them and know them best. Little Nursery Blue Group are based in the Catkins Room. Mrs Watson works closely with them and knows them best. So for these consultations, Little Yellow Group and Little Blue Group Parents will meet with the adults that are currently most knowledgeable about their child, which, at this time may not be their Keyworker.

Monday 1^st July–

Mrs Cashmore, Catkins Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:45pm

Mrs McGrath, Catkins Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:00pm and 3:35pm

Miss Gaffney’s Green Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

Mrs Brinkley’s Red Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:00pm

Tuesday 2^nd July

Miss Tyler’s Catkins Orange group children Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4^th July–

Mrs Watson’s Blue Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 3:55pm

So for Big Nursery:

Monday 1^st July-  No appointments scheduled.

Tuesday 2^nd July

Miss Skai’s Orange Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Miss Howe’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:15pm

Thursday 4^th July–

Mrs Patterson’s Green Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

Mrs Cashmore’s Yellow Group Children. Five minute appointments available between 3:15pm and 4:25pm

D. End of Term arrangements July 2024

The last day of term in July 2024 for all children will be Thursday 18^th July.

On Friday 19^th July school will open only for the Big Nursery children that are leaving us. The session will be from 8:50 am to 11:50 am. All Big Nursery leavers are invited to attend this session, regardless of your child’s normal attendance days. As children are attending for the morning only, no child will require a packed lunch. Children will require their water bottles. We are going to consult the children about what activities they would like to plan for their last day, and try to enable their ideas. There will be no charge for this session.

E. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme this week is ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’

All of the children throughout the school will be learning the story ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’.

In Catkins, the children will have access to lots of different clothes as they role play with a clothes shop. They will have the choice to dress up to look just as smart as the Giant in the story. There will be lots of clothes for the children to wear, including some oversized clothes that might be big enough to fit a giant.

In Catkins garden, the children will continue with the theme of exploring clothes. They will have a rotary washing line and pegs set up, along with a washing up bowl filled with water. They will use these resources to support them with their play. Hanging up clothes using pegs is very good for building fine motor skills and staff will ensure there is a constant flow of washing that needs to be dried.

In the Link, the children will focus on number. They will use stamps and paint to create pictures. Children will be prompted to say the names of each number they use for their work. Staff will support children with counting 1-3 and 1-5 and further if they are able. Children will be offered the opportunity to make a Father’s Day card, this is an optional activity and will only be completed if the children wish to.

In Room 3, the children will look at this theme from a mathematical viewpoint. They will be encouraged to measure their own feet and some giant feet, using multi-link blocks. Children will be shown how to attach the multi-link blocks together to create different measurements. They will be supported with counting the blocks as they work. Staff will discuss similarities and differences between the sizes of the feet that have been measured.

In Room 2, the children will explore the characters from the story. They will look at what the characters wear, and use the book for guidelines on any images they would like to create. These recreations of characters can be done in a range of ways, using different media and materials. The children will choose how they want to present their work. The children in Big Nursery will have the opportunity to make a Father’s Day card, there will be some ideas and resources available but it will be the children’s decision to make one.

In Room 1, staff will be focusing on maths skills. This will include number and counting games, as well as discussing the importance of taking turns. The children will be invited to play a matching socks game, where they will look at the patterns of different socks and try to pair them up. Children will then be encouraged to look for numbers and patterns in the environment.

Outside, the children will be investigating the way a giant might walk. They will have giant feet that they will stand on and use to make their way around the playground. These giants feet will promote balance and coordination for the children, they are so big that the children need to hold on to ropes to lift the feet. The water tray will be available outside for the children to look after and wash their babies in. Staff will talk to the children about the difference in size between a baby and a giant, modelling language such as big, small, short and tall etc.

Nursery News 3rd June 2024

NURSERY NEWS

Monday 3rd June 2024 – Edition 336.

Find out About

A. Summer Heat and Nursery.

B.Is your child ready to learn.

C. What are the children are learning about this week?

A. Summer Heat and Nursery.

We now find ourselves in the last seven weeks of the Summer Term. Higher temperatures will  now be arriving. Staff are bracing ourselves, as the Summer extreme hot weather brings its own problems.

Across the school, children respond differently to the heat. Some children can take the heat in their stride, and are happy and content. Some children really struggle with the heat, they get too hot, become flushed and sweaty. The intense heat can sap children’s energy. Some children can become extremely grumpy and tired in the hottest part of the day. Staff spend most of their time worrying about keeping everyone safe.

So to help:

• Please keep the donations of fruit and vegetables coming in for snack time. These help to keep the children hydrated, and snack time inside is a restful pause away from the heat.
• Donate some Ice Pops, again these can create a reason to pause and sit quietly. The ice also helps the children to cool down.
• Ensure children have their water bottles with them every day.
• Provide a hat for your child, please put their name on it somewhere.

B. Is your child ready to learn?

Parents always look eagerly towards finding out which Primary school their child will be attending. Parents of children leaving us in July 2024 have found out which school their child is going to. We work very hard in school to prepare children for the next stage in their learning at their new school. There are some preparations that parents should be aware of, and can work on with your child in order to make your child ‘School Ready’.  So together, as teachers and carers, we need to make sure all our children receive the very best possible start.

Central Bedfordshire Council has put together a leaflet which describes some essential skills that your child should be working towards in order to get the best out of school. This leaflet is known as the ‘sixteen ticks’ as it has sixteen things to work towards. These ticks are relevant to all our pupils, even the youngest, because they are all eventually going to go on to Primary School.

I have attached a poster along with this newsletter which details the sixteen ticks and suggests some points for you to consider.

There is an additional link sent with this newsletter. This is the 16 ticks poster.

Please have a look at it, to see the variety of skills children need to have in place in order to have a successful start in their primary school.

C. What are the children learning about this week?

The theme across the school is London and the Royal Family.

As part of our teaching about ‘British Values’, we spend some time looking at the British Royal Family. We introduce children to pictures of the royal family and pictures of artefacts that are a part of Royalty and Ceremony.

We also take this opportunity to talk about how the King sometimes lives in London, and again look at photographs of Royal Palaces and other London landmarks.

We introduce children to the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack), particularly looking at the colours of red white and blue.

We will offer a range of age appropriate activities, to enhance individual children’s knowledge and interest.

There will be a lot of crown making……

Nursery News 20th May 2024

NURSERY NEWS

 20^th May 2024 – Edition 335

Find out About

A. School Closed Next week- Half term holiday.

B Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!

C.Children’s bags.

D Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

E. What are the children are learning about this week?

A. School Closed Next week- Half term holiday.

The school will be closed from Monday 27^th May to Friday 31^st May for our Half Term holiday

B. Chicks and Butterflies have hatched!

During the summer term we learn about things that grow. We introduce the children to the idea of ‘lifecycles’. We have been observing the lifecycle of some caterpillars. We have watched them grow from small caterpillars to big, fat caterpillars. We watched as they spun cocoons around themselves. This morning we have found the butterflies beginning to hatch in our butterfly house.

We have also provided a ‘Living Eggs’ experience for the children. Living Eggs is a company that provides everything we need to enable our pupils to see eggs hatch successfully into chicks.

Our eggs arrived last Monday, and since then we have cared for them in an incubator. They began to hatch last Thursday. After a few hours we moved the newly hatched chicks to their new home, a light clean box with a warming lamp, with a big clear window so that the chicks can look out and our pupils can look in. We have seven chicks. Today, staff will be supporting children to hold the chicks and observe them closely.

The chicks will be with us until Friday. They begin to grow rapidly and their wing feathers start to develop. At this stage they become more difficult for us and the children to handle as they start to flap around. The lady from Living Eggs will return and take the chicks back to the farm.

C. Children’s bags.

The Summer Term is our busiest. Could we please ask all adults to help us admit the children as smoothly as possible. We encourage the children to be as independent as possible when they are learning with us. We would like all the children to learn to carry their own bag in to school and put this on their peg on arrival.

How can you help?

When you arrive together at the beginning of the session please prepare your child before you get to the front gate, by encouraging your child to already be holding/wearing their bag. Parents can then add lunchboxes and water bottles to the trolley whilst children can independently walk inside.

We work at a ratio of one adult to every 5 children with our 2 year olds. Many parents are expecting staff to take their child’s bag on arrival. The staff’s priority is to keep the children safe and escort them from the front gate to the front entrance hallway. If we expect the staff to hold everyone’s bags, they will have 4 or 5 each! I want staff to be thinking about children, not being distracted, worrying about children’s bags.

Please think about the appropriate size of the bag. Some parents provide their child with an enormous bag and this in itself means that their child will not be able to independently carry their bag inside. We suggest a child sized bag. Children’s sized backpacks are ideal, because once they are on the children do not have to actively hold anything. Their bag just comes with them!

We do train children over time. The oldest Big Nursery children are very competent with their own belongings. Have high expectations of your child and you may be pleasantly surprised at how competent they actually are!

D. Would you be interested in becoming a School Governor?

Willow Nursery is a Maintained Nursery School, and is managed like other Government Maintained Schools.

As part of our structure we have a governing body, made up of volunteers, that come together to help the Headteacher to manage the school effectively. As part of our governing body we have two Parent Governors. Parent governors play a vital role on governing bodies, holding the unique position of having a parental viewpoint of the school. Through the children, they have a first hand experience of the delivery of the curriculum, and how the school is perceived from the ‘consumers’ point of view. This enables parent governors to bring a different perspective to the strategic management of the school.

More specifically governors:

• help the school with it’s strategy
• hold the headteacher to account for the school’s performance
• makes sure the school budget is properly managed

What commitment to Parent Governors have to make at Willow?

We ask that governors are available to meet for three governors meetings per year, one in each term. We generally meet at 4:00pm, sometimes we meet face to face, sometimes online and currently due to everyone’s commitments, we operate a blended approach with some people meeting us here at school face to face, and others joining us online. Meetings usually last 60-90 minutes.

We ask all governors to visit the school once a year during the daytime to carry out a short governor visit, so they can see how the school is operating, within an area they are interested in.

You do not need any particular experience, we just ask that you are interested in the development of your child’s school.

We have one parent governor, but we are looking for a second one please! Our next meeting is on Monday 17th June at 4:00pm…..

So if you think this is something you might be interested in, have a chat with me, Mrs Davies and we can take it from there.

E. What are the children are learning about this week?

The theme this week is chicks.

In Catkins, the children will have a focus on reading. They will have a large reading area where they can sit alone or with staff and explore lots of books. The children will also investigate musical instruments and the sounds they make. Staff will support the children in making some simple instruments and show them how to use them.

In the garden, the children will have access to the water tray. There will be lots of water resources for everyone to use, they will be able to splash, squirt and transport water. There will be aprons for everyone to put on, but children are very likely to get wet! Please remember to pack a change of clothes for your children.

In the Link, the children will be able meet the chicks that have recently hatched in big nursery. They will be supported with looking at and handling the chicks. Staff will talk to the children about being gentle with the chicks so that they stay safe. Children will also have access to sensory activities such as paint and cornflour throughout the week.

In Room 3, the children will share books about chicks, with staff and look at the words and pictures on the pages. They will also spend lots of time working towards writing their names. Children will be supported with holding their pencils effectively and making marks. Staff will show the children how to form the different letters in their name.

In Room 2, the staff will have some of the chicks for the children to look at. The staff will talk to the children about what the chicks look like, including their colour and features. They will encourage the children to think about these factors as they paint images of the chicks. The children will be encouraged to write their names on the paper before they begin to paint.

The chicks have been located in Room 1 since they arrived. Staff will use this area to support the children in handling them and being as gentle as possible. They will explain to the children that we have to take really good care of the chicks because they are living creatures. There will be a set of instructions for the children to read before they handle the chicks. The children will be required to think about the letters and sounds that they have learned, so that they can read the instructions for taking care of the chicks.

Outside, we are hoping that the weather will continue to be fair. The children will work with staff to make kites that they can fly around the garden. They will use different tools such as scissors, string and sellotape to create the desired effect. The staff will explain to the children that their kites will fly better on a windy day, but that they can also make them fly, by running as fast as they can and holding the kites as high as possible.

Website Issues

We are currently having some website issues. Some information may not be current or may be missing. We will rectify this as soon as possible.

Nursery News 13th May 2024

NURSERY NEWS

 13^th May 2024 – Edition 334

Find out About

A. Sun Safety

B. What are the children learning about this week?

A. Sun Safety

We are moving swiftly towards the hottest part of the year in school. I have been doing some research online to ensure I can give parents good advice about Sun Safety.

I have taken some information from Cancer Research UK’s website:

• The best way to enjoy the sun safely and protect your skin is to use shade, clothing and sunscreen.
• Shade and clothing are better than sunscreen at protecting your skin.
• Sunscreen shouldn’t be used to spend longer in the sun. But they can be useful for protecting the parts of skin not covered by clothing or shade.

Clothing

Clothing should cover your shoulders and have long sleeves. The more skin that’s covered by your clothing, the better the protection.

Choose clothing that’s loose-fitting and darker in colour

Look for materials with a close weave- as a guide you can hold the material up to the light to check you can’t see through the fabric

Hats

Choose a wide-brimmed hat that shades your face, ears and neck for the most UV protection.

Shade

Spending time in the shade is one of the best ways to protect your skin from the sun’s UV rays.

So what does this mean for us at Willow?

We still go outside every day, but we do limit how long children can go outside if it is very hot. We encourage all children to drink plenty, reminding them that their water bottle is always available. We do encourage children to come inside for a rest in the shade. At some points in the day we completely close outside, so that we know all children have had a break from the sun. We are very lucky in that our school remains fairly cool in the summer, with lots of windows for ventilation.

You know your child best!   

Some children are more vulnerable to the sun than others. I have red hair and freckles, which means that I can burn very easily, (Sometimes in very strong sun, in as little as 20 minutes). Some children are less likely to burn than others. People with naturally dark or brown skin burn less easily. But people with darker skin can still burn – it might feel itchy or tender rather than changing colour.

So, I can give advice, but you must make day to day decisions regarding your child’s sun safety.

How can you help us?

Dress your child appropriately. Try to avoid too much bare skin. A t-shirt gives much more protection from the sun than a strappy sundress or a vest top. Think about children’s feet. Exposed skin in sandals may burn.

We would ask you to apply sun protection cream to your child before they attend morning or afternoon sessions. We will assume that all pupils will have had sun protection cream applied at home.  If your child attends all day and you wish your child to have additional cream applied at lunchtime, please send a bottle of sun protection cream into school (please pass it to their Keyworker) and we will store it safely in the classroom, out of the children’s reach. This cream should be left in school.  Ensure their name is on it. Staff will assist children to apply sun protection cream at lunchtime. We will help pupils to apply sun protection cream to their face, neck and arms.  Please do not leave sun protection cream in your child’s bag. We do not want children sharing their cream with their friends. One year we found a pair of children applying it to their teeth to use as toothpaste!

Please provide your child with a hat with their name on when the weather is sunny. A hat with a broad brim is better than a cap for sun protection. A cap is better than no hat. Remember 2, 3,and 4 year olds cannot always remember the whereabouts of clothing that they have taken off. Put their name on it if you want it to return home!

More information regarding the summer term:

Consider what you would like your child to wear at school for safety. Children are still climbing and riding bikes so long sundresses and strappy sandals are not always practical!                                 Messy Play:   As the weather improves we take more and more activities outside. More water is used and play can become much messier. Please ensure clothes are play friendly and send in spares as children can become soaked if they pour water down their clothes, even with aprons on!

B. What are the children are learning about this week?

The theme this week is chicks.

In Catkins, the children will focus on the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and learning about the changes a caterpillar goes through. The children will also work on some simple caterpillar crafts with staff.

In the garden, the children will have lots of opportunities to work on their ball skills. They will be encouraged to do lots of kicking, throwing and catching large, soft balls. Staff will set up areas for the children to explore their skills and play.

In the Link, the staff will show the children how to use sponges to create a new painting effect. They will use their sponges to create and decorate caterpillars. As they work, staff will talk about The Very Hungry Caterpillar book that we have recently read.

In Room 3, the children will use their scissor skills to practice making snips in paper. They will be encouraged to make snips around large circular shapes. The children will add googly eyes to create simple chick pictures.

In Room 1, the children will be learning about chicks. The eggs will arrive in an incubator and staff will talk to the children about the importance of them staying inside and warm. Staff will explain to the children that later in the week, the eggs should hatch and we will meet the chicks. Children will use their cutting and sticking skills to create work on the lifecycle of a chick.

Outside, the children will focus on ball skills. They will be encouraged to challenge themselves to use a bat and ball. Staff will support the children with their coordination and model how to hit a ball with a bat. They will explain how helpful it is for the children to track the ball while it is moving towards them. The water tray will also be outside, weather permitting, so please remember spare clothes and shoes.